We mortals are but shadows and dust. Shadows and dust, Maximus!
~Proximo, "Gladiator"
~Proximo, "Gladiator"
This is the team that I used on the Uber ladder for most of the month of August, peaking at a rating of 1726 and a ranking of #2. However, since the #1-ranked account at the time had a glitched rating, you could say that I was the de facto #1 on the ladder for a while. After reaching the top of the leaderboard with this team, I began slowly retiring it from "active duty," and now I have decided to share it with everyone on Smogon to see what you guys think. This team began with a lead that I created based on observation of the Uber metagame and a fair bit of theorymon, and the other team members (as well as the overall strategy) followed from there. Each of my Pokémon is named after a Roman or Greek deity corresponding to one of the planets in the solar system, since Ubers are to the Pokémon world what gods and goddesses were to the ancients. Well, I think that's enough of an introduction, so on to the feature attraction!
SHADOWS AND DUST
Mew@Lum Berry|Synchronize **Gaia
Jolly|252 HP, 222 Spe, 36 Atk
1. Explosion
2. Stealth Rock
3. Taunt
4. U-turn
Description: Yes, I use a lead Mew. "BUT I THOUGHT IT COULD ONLY BATON PASS??" Wrong. This set is quite simple yet incredibly effective, and it works just great even when the opponent knows all about it. Taunt, Stealth Rock, and Explosion are the moves that define a "suicide lead," allowing me to get SR up at the beginning of the match while often preventing slower leads like Groudon from doing the same and then go out with a boom whenever Mew's time is up. U-turn is a great momentum move that is the best option against Deoxys-S, which almost always Taunt upon first sight. It also allows me to get Mew off the battlefield and retain my momentum if I do not want to explode it. The combination of Mew U-turn + Scizor Bullet Punch often prevents Deoxys-S that Taunt first turn from getting any entry hazards, which is really awesome. Mew's job is to test the waters and gain the early advantage, which it does fantastically; however, it has proven to be useful many a time later in the battle as a check to many threats via Taunt and Explosion or simply as death fodder. Its impact upon the battle is often hard to define in concrete terms, but if I had to pick an MVP for this team, it would definitely be this extremely underrated Pokémon.
Other Info: A Jolly nature and 222 Speed EVs let Mew outspeed everything up to and including max speed Rayquaza, which is great for exploding on dangerous sweepers that sit in the base 90-95 range. The Lum Berry lets Mew take a Dark Void from lead Darkrai and U-turn out to Scizor for Bullet Punch/U-turn mindgames. I nicknamed Mew "Gaia" after the Greek goddess of the Earth because her name sounded cooler than that of her Roman counterpart Terra.
Scizor@Choice Band|Technician **Mars
Adamant|252 SpDef, 202 HP, 56 Atk
1. Bullet Punch
2. Pursuit
3. Superpower
4. U-turn
Adamant|252 SpDef, 202 HP, 56 Atk
1. Bullet Punch
2. Pursuit
3. Superpower
4. U-turn
Description: The only OU member of my team, Choice Band Scizor has proven itself time and time again to be Uber Strong. It is one of the best "momentum Pokémon" in the game, thanks to the awesome move combination of Bullet Punch if opponents stay in, U-turn if they switch out, and Pursuit if I really want to get rid of Latias, Blissey, and pals. Superpower is mainly for those pesky Dialga that love to switch in on this thing; it doesn't usually see much use, as most of the time I am either mindlessly spamming U-turn or finishing off a weakened enemy with Bullet Punch. Scizor has great synergy with Mew, which means that usually the combination of those two Pokémon can get me in charge of the battle during the opening stages. Like the star freshman that can hang in there with the big boys, Scizor is more than able to hold its own in the harsh environment of the Uber tier. It has problems dealing much damage sturdy physical walls like Groudon and Lugia, but that's where its teammates can step in and take over.
Other Info: The nature and EV spread are standard for the Uber tier and shouldn't require much explanation; they let it take a few hits and dish them out too. Scizor is one of the best users of Choice Band out there, and the power boost is vital to its success. "Mars" is the Roman god of war, and since Scizor is one tough bug (as well as being the same color as the fourth planet), it seemed the natural choice.
Kyogre@Choice Specs|Drizzle **Neptune
Modest|252 SpAtk, 222 HP, 36 Spe
1. Ice Beam
2. Surf
3. Thunder
4. Water Spout
Description: The best Pokémon in DPP, hands (flippers?) down. There is no way that I can aptly describe its awesomeness with mere words, but if you've ever had that euphoric feeling upon seeing Blissey's health bar go all the way from full to 30%ish when it comes into a full health Modest Choice Specs Water Spout in the rain with SR down, you know what a BEAST it is. Water/Ice/Electric gets near-perfect coverage (I'm looking at you Chinchou/Lanturn/Shedinja), with Water Spout for when your HP is high and Surf for when it gets low. Having Kyogre out on the field in an advantageous situation, which is really pretty easy to do, immediately puts the opponent on the defensive and gives me the all-important momentum that is crucial to winning Uber battles. Practically nothing can OHKO this monster, so if I'm in a 1-1 situation with Kyogre left at near-full health (and it has happened several times), you might as well say gg. There's really no reason NOT to use this Pokémon - it's simply the best there is.
Other Info: With Choice Specs, a Modest nature, and 252 EVs, Kyogre's Special Attack hits a whopping 657, which is just obscene. I didn't see the need in maxing Speed because it would only help in forcing ties with stuff like other SpecsOgre and fast Giratina-O, and I wouldn't want to be in those situations anyway. Therefore, I gave it 36 Speed EVs to beat out support Groudon with 32 and put the rest into HP for added bulk. Kyogre is nicknamed "Neptune" after the ninth planet, which in turn gets its name from the Roman god of the sea.
Rayquaza@Choice Band|Air Lock **Jupiter
Jolly|252 Atk, 252 Spe, 6 SpDef
1. Dragon Claw
2. Earthquake
3. Extremespeed
4. Outrage
Description: "LOL, who uses CBRay? CBChomp ftw!" Not so, young Padawan, and here's why. (1) Power. Rayquaza's 150 base Attack is better than Garchomp's by 20 points, and you never know when the difference might make or break a battle. (2) Priority. It is HUGE to have a second priority move in Extremespeed to back up Scizor's Bullet Punch, because it gives me another way to pick off fast, powerful Pokémon that have been weakened but threaten to take a big bite out of my team unless they are stopped. (3) Unexpectedness. Since no one uses CBRay (it's relegated to Other Options on the analysis page), people don't usually respond to it properly, which can often net me surprise KOs on stuff like Support Groudon that's taken some prior damage or Choice Scarf Garchomp that think they can come in on a Swords Dance or Dragon Dance. Try it out if you haven't before - you'll soon realize how great it is.
Other Info: Max Attack/Max Speed/6 SpDef blah blah blah. Choice Band blah blah blah. Jolly nature is cool because it means that I know I can outspeed any base 90s or below without a boost and at least speed tie with other Rayquaza that haven't used Dragon Dance. Jupiter is the king of the Roman gods as well as the largest planet in the solar system, and Rayquaza is the ruler of the Hoenn weather trio, so it made sense to nickname it "Jupiter."
Dialga@Choice Specs|Pressure **Saturn
Timid|252 SpAtk, 252 Spe, 6 HP
1. Draco Meteor
2. Dragon Pulse
3. Flamethrower
4. Thunder
Description: Another underrated Uber threat, SpecsDialga rounds off my quartet of Choice users in (draco) meteoric fashion. I was feeling pretty good about the team by the time I got to this point: I had a rare yet effective lead, a Steel+Dragon pairing of powerful physical attackers, and the best special attacker that exists. The logical thing to do was to add another ridiculously devastating special attacker, and Dialga was the first Pokémon that came to my mind. Its unique typing gives me many useful resistances to work with, including Water, Electric, Bug, and Dark, to name a few; it gives me the feared "Double Dragon" strategy that breaks down practically everything with the combination of Draco Meteor/Dragon Pulse from Dialga and Outrage/Dragon Claw from Rayquaza; and it makes a great check to several fearsome threats, such as Adamant SDRay, SDLuke, and Sub+CMOgre. What more could you ask for?
Other Info: 252 Speed EVs with a Timid nature gives Dialga the ability to outspeed Adamant SDRay and SDLuke so it can OHKO with Dragon Pulse and Flamethrower, respectively. It also forces speed ties with other maxed-out base 90s, which can sometimes decide a battle's outcome (just read my warstory!). 252 Special Attack EVs with the item Choice Specs makes Dialga a massive danger to pretty much everything in the Uber tier except for Blissey and...yeah, that's pretty much it. Dialga being the Pokémon world's Lord of Time, it was easy to pick "Saturn," the seventh planet that is named after the Roman god of time, as its nickname.
Mewtwo@Leftovers|Pressure **Uranus
Timid|252 SpAtk, 252 Spe, 6 Def
1. Aura Sphere
2. Calm Mind
3. Ice Beam
4. Taunt
Description: This is the late-game sweeper, and what an awesome one it is! Once my other five Pokémon have done their jobs taking out the opponent's answers to Taunt+CM Mewtwo (and there aren't that many), it can sweep easily with the great coverage given by Aura Sphere and Ice Beam. I'm sure if you've seen any Uber battles, you've watched a Mewtwo sweep on more than one occasion. "Classic" Uber stall is practically dismantled singlehandedly by this one Pokémon, and while "modern" Uber stall fares quite a bit better, it still has problems, which means that I can keep up the pressure and stack up damage on its walls to hopefully let Dialga or Kyogre break through. Since people often have the same response for Mew as they do for Mewtwo, I can usually find out early on what my strategy needs to be to win the battle. Mew+Mewtwo is the one-two punch at the heart of this team's success.
Other Info: Timid max Special/max Speed/6 Def is nothing special, but it gets the job done. Leftovers improves Mewtwo's survivability and ensures that Blissey's Seismic Toss is a 5HKO at full health. Uranus, the eighth planet in the solar system, is actually named after a Greek god, Ouranos, who is the god of the sky. (I didn't give this nickname to Rayquaza because Jupiter seemed a better match.) There are two reasons why I picked "Uranus" over "Caelus" (the Roman equivalent): first, it sounds better, and second, it makes me chuckle every time Mewtwo comes in and the message "Uranus is exerting its pressure!" appears. Admit it, you laughed. Admit it!
Well, that's it for the body of the team - if you have any questions/comments about why I chose X, how I use Y or what the role of Z is, please include them in your rates so I can explain further what needs further explanation. Now, instead of a normal threat list with a bunch of Pokémon sprites and fairly obvious commentary about how Scizor checks Lati@s, Kyogre OHKOs Groudon, and so on, I'm going to talk about how I handle the three main types of teams: offensive (aggro), balanced, and defensive (stall).
Aggro: By far the most common type of Uber team, aggro can take all kinds of different forms, but the general method of dealing with it is pretty simple: Grab the momentum and retain it. I'm perfectly happy sacrificing Pokémon left and right if it means that I can win 1-0, because as long as I stay in command of the battle's pace, I should be able to control the nature of the endgame and set myself up for victory.
Balanced: You don't really see balanced Uber teams very often, but they can cause this team quite a few problems because I have to focus on not only controlling the tempo but also breaking through the opponent's walls, which can be tricky sometimes against niche Pokémon such as Ludicolo, Shedinja, and Jirachi that are specifically meant to counter stuff like SpecsOgre or Taunt+CM Mewtwo.
Stall: With four Choice users, you would think that I would have massive problems defeating stall teams, but they CAN be dismantled if I play my cards right. The trick here is to build up damage on one side of the spectrum (physical or special) by continually bombarding walls with powerful attacks and not leaving the opponent time to use recovery moves. The easiest way to do this is to get Blissey in the 40-50% range using mainly Mewtwo and Scizor, which allows Dialga to basically sweep an entire stall team if the other Pokémon are just slightly weakened. (Timid Choice Specs Dragon Pulse does about 25% to Blissey.)
\tl;dr
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